#232 How to Overcome Discomfort for Growth

Hey, everyone. Hope you've had another amazing week. My voice is still recovering from pimdcon, talking to so many people, having a great time. You know, I can't stop talking and having conversations with people, and my goal is always to connect with as many people as possible. The problem is sometimes my voice takes a hit. So if you notice that, that's what's going on today. But today, I'm going to talk about a topic that's been showing up everywhere lately, especially for the last few years. And that is the idea and the practice of cold plunging. But before you tune out thinking this is just another podcast about taking ice baths, let me tell you, it's way more than that. I think you're going to really enjoy this episode, so stay tuned. Welcome to the Passive Income MD Podcast, where we talk about creating your ideal life through multiple streams of income. If you enjoy hearing about this stuff, make sure to hit subscribe. Now, let's get on with the show. Now, they say the hardest thing about coal plunging and is not talking about cold plunging. And I think it's a funny thing because it is absolutely true. It almost feels like you're part of the family when you find out other people cold plunge. But in this episode, I'm going to talk about something much bigger. Why we need to challenge ourselves, do hard things, and that builds resilience and why that's important. Cold plunging is just one example of how we can do that. Now, let me tell you how it works for me. This is my usual routine during the week. I drop my kids off at school. When I get back, I get in my swimsuit and I go downstairs to a room where I have this big tub. If whatever reason it's just sitting out in my workout room, it's connected to a little chiller. It's water that's running through there. You can hear it. And it's set around 55 degrees. Now, when I first heard that 55 degrees, I was like, that's not freezing water. It didn't seem that cold. But trust me, once you're in that kind of water, it's like jumping into a really, really cold ocean. It is cold enough. And you're. When and when I'm standing in front of the tub, I promise you, I never want to get in. But I psych myself up, I take some deep breaths, and then I jump in. I get right in there, dunk my head in, and I lay in there. And the first thing that happens is I always lose my breath. I have to remind myself to Take a breath. And then my mind goes completely blank. And the only thing I can focus on is basically staying in that tub. It takes your breath away. Immediately my hands actually start aching and all I can think about is how uncomfortable it is. But I know that if I can just hold on for 90 seconds, it starts to get better. And then it's kind of funny, about five to six minutes in of just laying in that cold water, I start to feel kind of euphoric. It's like my body is warming up, everything is tingling. And then that's when I get out. Feels like my body's been charged with electricity. I'm so awake, alert. Coffee has nothing on this feeling. And I'm ready to conquer anything that the day throws at me. It's just an amazing way to start the morning. I feel like it's a win right from the start. I mean, who wouldn't want to start the day with a win when all these things usually pile on us, all the stresses of the moment, we're thinking about all of these things. But you start with a win right off the bat. And I think that's what it's all about. It's not easy, but that is the point. If you do something hard at the beginning of the day, it sets the tone. And cold plunge just happens to be one of those challenges for me. It might be working out for you, it might be doing yard work for you. I don't know what it is, but it's a challenge in the morning that you get out of the way first thing and it sets the tone. Now, let me tell you, bought this tub really determined to do it. And the very first time I did it, I couldn't even last 20 seconds. I got in, I said no, and I got right back out. But I kept trying at it and I stayed a little bit longer each time. And now I crave that feeling afterwards. Like I want that feeling of resilience. I want that feeling like I'm able to do hard things. And sometimes in our day to day jobs, we forget all the challenges that we're overcoming daily. And we sometimes lose that feeling of that satisfaction of doing hard things. But let's be honest, and as doctors, we're so trained to do these hard things that day to day, we kind of forget how awesome it is to do what we do. Many of you poke needles in people near vital organs. You have someone's life in your hands, you're making these crazy diagnoses, you're setting the direction of people's lives. Based on the information that you have. We all rise to the occasion because that's what we're trained to do. And it becomes second nature after a while. You've done it for so long and it doesn't feel like you're doing anything special. But that couldn't be further from the truth. When you change up the daily routine, you start to notice the different things that you're doing. Just breaking up that routine and mixing it up a little bit allows you to have some more perspective on things. And I can tell you, the moment you stop feeling like you're challenging yourself and feeling like you're not growing, that's when life doesn't feel the same. I always wonder why so many superstar athletes, they end up loving the game of golf. I don't know if you ever noticed that. Obviously Michael Jordan is a great example of that. Do they not have enough challenges in their life, especially when it comes to the sport that they love? The thing is, no matter how skilled you get, wherever you're at, sometimes when you do something day to day, you kind of forget what the challenges are like and you crave that feeling. So when you do something else and you challenge yourself and you find there's room for improvement, you feel alive again. And trust me, when it comes to golf, it's impossible to be perfect. But you got to work against yourself. It's you versus yourself at the end of the day. And I think people really love love and seek out that challenge. So what challenges are you putting in front of you? Maybe investing in real estate, learning about something new, starting a business, building your practice, growing it, pushing yourself beyond what's comfortable. You probably all felt it. When you do those things, you start to feel alive. And just a small representation of that daily are the cold plunges that I do. So how can you do this in your daily life? Yes, you can do cold plunges, too. But an easy way to do this is at the end of your shower. Just go completely cold for 30 seconds. Try it. Stay in there as long as you can. It may not seem like much, but if you do this for two weeks, I promise you, you feel different. It reminds you that you can handle discomfort and push through. Of course, there's other physical challenges you can do. Walk an extra mile a day. Try to hit 15,000 steps, which is my daily goal. If you see my arms, you probably realize that lifting weights is probably not my primary thing. It's about pushing your physical limits and feeling alive and having goals. Then, of course, there's the last one it's the Mental challenges Find something that makes you uncomfortable and sit in it. For some people, they said they came to our conference and during some of the talks they had no idea what was going on and they felt uncomfortable. But they decided to sit in it anyways and it started to seep in and started to make sense. Maybe you're trying to take on another mental challenge, learn something else different and it feels uncomfortable for you. Maybe public speaking scares you. Try committing to something and investing in something, even if it's uncomfortable, knowing that you're going to learn and push yourself beyond what you already know and feel good about. All these things are ways to remind ourselves of our ability to handle challenges, which we all know we can do. And so in the end, it's not about the cold plunging. It's just about whether you're willing to do the hard things that help you grow, like whether it's a cold shower, whether it's learning to invest, making that investment, starting that new business, tackling new challenges. Find ways to step into that discomfort. I promise you, that's when the growth happens and you'll start to feel alive again. In any case, hope you have an amazing week. Wherever you're listening from, I want to let you know I'm so grateful for you and this community. We're here to support you. Let's talk again soon. Thanks everyone. Enjoy the show. Let me know by dropping a review in the podcast app you're listening to us in. And if you haven't already, make sure to hit subscribe. Join thousands of physicians who are also on this journey to creating their ideal lives through multiple streams of income. Learn more at our website, passiveincomemd.com thanks again for allowing me to be a part of your journey. See you next time.